BERLIN- Former Stephen Decatur standout Marshall Betts is off to a great start in his professional baseball debut with the Independent United League Brownsville Charros in Texas after tearing up the Texas Summer League earlier this year.
Betts, a standout varsity baseball player at Decatur, excelled this year in the Texas Summer League, a showcase league for free agent players designed to place them in professional baseball. Betts, who was a four-year starter at McDaniel College before landing in the independent Texas Summer League based in Fort Worth, where he batted .341 and went 14-41 at the plate including a home run and five RBIs. Four of Betts’ 14 hits during the Texas Summer League season went for extra bases.
In addition to his prowess at the plate, Betts was an outstanding fielder in the Texas Summer League, playing first, third, shortstop and left field. Earlier this summer, he snared a wicked line drive for the final out of a combined no-hitter. In his last TSL game, Betts made a diving catch of a line drive with the bases loaded and the score tied in the top of the sixth inning before driving in the winning run in the bottom of the sixth. Betts even pitched in three games in the TSL, recording one save.
His versatility and strong play in the TSL got Betts noticed and he was picked up by the Brownsville Charros in the Independent United League. In just his first six games as a professional baseball player for the Charros, Betts has picked up where he left off in the Texas Summer League, going 10-26 for a .385 average. Betts went 4-5 at the plate last Sunday, and went 3-5 last Saturday including a double.